Read what Yashwant Sinha has to say in regard with this year’s presidential election

Yashwant Sinha said that if he is elected as the next President of India, he will raise his voice for all common people of the country, including unemployed youth, women and all “marginalised sections of the society”.

Yashwant Sinha, the Opposition’s joint candidate for the upcoming Presidential elections, on Wednesday said that he had “high regard” for Droupadi Murmu, the other contender in the race to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, while stating that the contest was not between two people but between “opposing ideologies”.

In a statement shared by the Congress on Twitter, Sinha who quit the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and joined Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) in March last year, also wished Murmu “well in the election”.

The 64-year-old Murmu has been nominated by the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as its candidate for the forthcoming presidential polls. If she does get elected, Murmu will be the first tribal woman candidate to take the highest constitutional role in India since the country’s Independence 75 years ago.

Explaining his take on “opposing ideologies”, Sinha, a former bureaucrat, said that one is “hellbent in throttling the Constitution” and believes the country’s President should not have his/her own mind to function but “serve as a rubber stamp to do the government’s bidding”.

“I assure them – and the people of India – that, if elected, I shall conscientiously uphold, without fear or favour, the basic values and guiding ideas of the Indian Constitution. In particular, as the custodian of the Constitution, I shall not allow the light of democracy and secularism to be dimmed by the executive,” Sinha’s statement added.

The Opposition’s nominee said that if elected as the next President of India, he will not allow the “independence and integrity of the democratic institutions to be weaponised, as is happening now”.

Sinha said he will not allow the ongoing attacks on the federal structure of the Constitution in which attempts are being made to “rob the state governments of their legitimate rights and powers”. He added that India is currently going through a difficult time, and if elected as the President, he will raise his voice for all common people, including farmers, women, unemployed youth, workers, and all “marginalised sections of the society”.

Despite the opposition showering praises on Sinha, and the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) deciding to support him in the Presidential polls, chances favour Murmu in the race. Odisha chief minister and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) boss Naveen Patnaik has repeatedly sided with Murmu, a fellow Odiya.

Moreover, Bihar’s ruling Janata Dal (United) or JD(U) and Hindustani Awam Morcha-Secular, or HAM-S have also extended their support to Murmu for the Presidential elections.

The polls will take place on July 18, and nominations for the same can be filed till June 29. The results of the presidential elections will be declared on July 21.

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